Wednesday, December 20, 2000
Isaiah 7:10-14 ~ Psalm 24:1-6 ~ Luke 1:26-38
“Mary said, ‘I am the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be done as you say.’”
Luke 1:38
The word translated “maidservant” is used in masculine form
of Jesus, with whom Mary becomes pregnant when she utters this fiat. St. Paul uses it often, referring
to himself. A stronger translation, challenging me to shake off spiritual
lethargy, is “slave.” Influenced by novels and television programs, I think of
servants as those who agree to give a certain amount of time to a master for an
agreed sum of money. Within the agreed time they are at the disposal of the
master. Outside that time and in the servants’ quarters, they are free to do as
they wish. That’s how I serve God, preserving a certain amount of freedom and
self-determination. Mary – and Jesus and Paul – say: “I want you, God, to have
all of me all of the time. I’ll be a slave. Then I will be free.”
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